An Awaiting Love
by whiteberry
Summary: Their first meeting had unconsciously brought them to a feeling called love but they didn't realize it yet. At the same time, both of their family had already had their candidate for their successors' future engagement in accordance to tradition that time. Will they realize their feelings and changed those decisions? AU 1827 6927 slight AlaudexGiotto.
1. Prologue

**Prologue. A Forgotten Story**

_This is an old story that has long been forgotten by people since modern era. It was written when the world entered the period of Middle Ages, an era in which the government structure was still a monarch. _

_Neither the writer nor the time creation of it was known but one believed that it's related to a young prince from Vongola kingdom who died in his mid 30s during war with Millefiore. His name, features and several known relatives were identical with the ones belonged to the main lead who was also a prince in that story._

_There were no other historical evidences that may explain that relation further. No one was ever able to prove that this story was real event or just a bedtime story or even works of literature like Romeo and Juliet. However, for several hundred years before modern era, the story was a legend telling about love between two hearts._

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_-To be continue-_

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**This is my first fanfic. It is actually one of several stories I and Keirch made by role playing. ^^...Hope you enjoy reading this story. I know the prologue is not such a long chapter but I will soon update the next chapter. I'm still working on it.**

**I want to know your opinion about the prologue. So please review. Any suggestions and comments will be welcomed. ^^...Just don't leave hate review. **

**Disclaimer : I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or any of its characters.**


	2. In The Afternoon

**Hello everyone!**

**I'm sorry for late in updating the chapters. It's really not my intention to update late but as I've mentioned before English isn't my first language so I got a bit difficulty in writing it. **

**Thank you for those who faves and follows, especially Belle-Kurama-style-bankai and Koneko-sempai who also left the reviews. ^^...**

**And...special thanks to Daylite for the help in editing sentence construction, grammars in this story. ^^ **

**So...here it is. The first chapter after prologue.**

**Just for information :**

Normal

_Narration_

_'Thoughts'_

_"Flashback conversation"_

**Hope you all enjoy the story. **

**Disclaimer : I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or any of its characters.**

* * *

**Chapter One. In The Afternoon**

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_Hundred years ago, stood a powerful, ancient kingdom named Vongola on the land that was now far from human contact. Its military strength, affluence, vast knowledge including witchcraft were the reasons behind its fame. For generations, it's had never weakened. They grew more powerful as the years progressed, never weakening._

* * *

Pale blue painted the morning sky while white cloud decorated most part of it. It was a contrasting sight compared to the shades of golden, yellow, red and brown which covered the whole land. These sceneries had almost never changed from day to day when Autumn took over the area after Summer. However today was different. It was special because today was the first day of _**Fête du Soleil***_, a historic festival which was held for once a week in every year to commemorate the Kingdom's establishment.

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_Before Vongola Kingdom carved its existence in the page of history, there were seven small kingdoms then; Cielo, Tempesta, Pioggia, Nuvola, Nebbia, Sereno, Fulmine . At first, they co-existed peacefully with each other, giving respect for one another's nation as they interacted. However it changed when one of them declared war, after claiming that it was being insulted by the other 2 nations. The other four kingdoms stood neutral and tried to suggest to them to stop the war but rather than taking the suggestion, they asked for an alliance to win the war. They reasoned that this war was to protect their pride and winning was the only way that could end this war. Taking this as a logical reason, the other four kingdoms accepted the alliance soon with three different kingdoms that initiated the war first. _

_It marked the start of __**Period d'Eclipse***_ _which means the Eclipse Period in English._

_None of them wanted to succumb to each other. Also, none of them ever realized that the once small war had actually turned into a great war. Months passed by and soon it dragged to the fourth year, almost going into the fifth year. No negotiations could cease the war because before they reached into an agreement of the terms of the peace treaty, chaos had ended the conference._

_It was until one day, they all grew tired of the endless battle. It became pointless. The war brought forth nothing but despair. The once fertile land had almost become a dry land with the grass losing the natural green color of it, no colorful blooming flowers, and no crops. Abandoning the land might be the only thing laid ahead of their future if they still insisted on continuing the war. _

_Fearing that worst future would come true, the seven kingdoms then set up another conference with the kings as representative of each country. It took them months to achieve a peace treaty which resulted to a union of these seven kingdoms or in other words, forming a single royal government. _

_Cielo was chosen to be the King of the new formed Kingdom which was agreed to be named as Vongola. _

_Peace returned to the people accompanied by happiness and hopes as soon as the war ended, just like the Sun illuminating the sky after the darkness of the night. That's why the commemoration was called the Sun Festival or __**Fête du Soleil***__in Latin._

* * *

From early morning, citizens were seen to help royal officers in charge of decorating the city. Royal flags were hung from on the wall of tall buildings and tiny multicolored triangular-shaped flags were being lined up neatly on the ropes that ran across from one building to another. The others were preparing several things including lampions for night decorations. Meanwhile music and story teller were entertaining the rest of citizens with various interesting attractions in town square. The faint sound of melodious music drifted through the crowd.

It was a truly interesting scene filled with joy and laughter even as it was seen from afar. There, not too far from the crowd and across the city, stood an enormous castle called 'palace' standing with all its glory. Inside one of numerous rooms built inside it, sat a 10 years old boy by the window watching the festival using the binoculars.

_'It would have been nice to be able to enjoy the festival.'_ thought the brown haired boy as he grew more interested towards the scenery he saw through his binoculars. His smile widened as seconds passes by, imagining how nice it was if he could join them to celebrate the festival. However it was just an imagination as he was prohibited to go.

Everyone outside should have thought that he could do whatever he wanted and go wherever he wanted without being restricted by anyone or even the laws of the country. However they're wrong. He was not as free as what those people thought even though he was the prince, the second prince of the country to be exact. It's not because of his parents. A certain new tutor of his was the main reason. The fact that he couldn't go celebrating the festival and had been sitting by the window of the large study room which was filled with books alone was also because of him.

He gave him a lot of homework to be completed as a condition-for being permitted to celebrate the festival. However by the time he finished his homework, his tutor was still having his meeting with the King that was not to be disturbed so he couldn't get the permission. He growled in frustration as two hours had nearly passed since the last time he went to search for his tutor with help from some servants. "How long do I have to wait, stupid Reborn?" he muttered as soft sigh escaped his lips.

"You'll get punished if he heard that, Tsuna."

The brunette, whose name was Tsuna, looked a little surprised upon hearing a sudden greeting voice came from behind. He immediately hid his binoculars and found a 13 years old blond male was walking towards him. "Giotto-nii, you scared me!" Tsuna exclaimed, and pouted at his older brother who looked nearly like him with the same defying gravity hair except their eyes and hair color. Giotto, the older male had orange eyes and blond hair whilst Tsuna had big doe brown eyes and hair.

Giotto chuckled lightly at his little brother's cute response. "Do I really scare you or it's because of something else?" Giotto teased him, ruffling his brother's hair and sat beside him by the window. He rested his hands on the window frame and used his right fist to support his chin. He glanced outside the window, enjoying the peaceful sight of forest, city and garden surrounding the palace under the pale blue sky before realizing that he was ignored. His little brother was now being occupied, once again, with his binoculars. It made Giotto frown a bit. Never did the cute little brunette ignore him.

"What are you looking at?" Giotto asked, snatching away the binoculars from his brother. There must be something far more interesting than him that stole Tsuna's attention for him.

"Give it back, Giotto-nii!" Tsuna tried to snatch it back from Giotto but his older brother's grip was too strong than his.

"Please, Giotto-nii." Tsuna whined as he punched Giotto on his shoulder and tried to pinch his older brother's cheek. Those attempts successfully got Giotto a bit distracted but that didn't make the older male loosen his grips at the binoculars. Giotto just smiled, ignoring Tsuna's attempts and quietly observing the outside surrounding. Tsuna sighed in defeat before sitting back next to his brother, staring at the royal garden below.

"The story-teller must have already finished telling his story."

"What?"

"The story-teller near the town square. Currently, he is telling about a child being trapped in a house of an evil witch." Tsuna complained, "And you snatched the binoculars away right when he was about to tell how the child managed to escape."

Giotto lowered his binoculars and threw a confused look at Tsuna. His confusion wasn't because of he found his little brother could understand the whole story that was presented kilometers away. He knew Tsuna was using a magic spell called _**Magica sonus et vox***_, a spell of sound and voice to have listen better to the story. For people from Vongola Kingdom, having a magic skill was common for they were born with it. Each newly born child would have at least a magical ability. In other words, everyone in Vongola Kingdom was practically a wizard.

Giotto didn't understand why the brunette chose to enjoy the story-telling using binoculars and magic instead of going directly to the place. No one and no laws could forbid the brunette from celebrating the festival. Nobody would find it wrong even if a prince wanted to listen to story-telling at the town hall during festival. Plus, the brunette didn't really needed permission to do everything he wanted as long as it didn't go against the rule of royals and common law.

"Why don't you just go watching it directly? It's quite uncomfortable to observe far away things using binoculars. Your upper arm will easily get tired." Giotto said with concern in his voice.

Tsuna rolled his eyes at Giotto's question and sighed heavily, "As if I can, Giotto-nii."

Giotto nodded slightly as he watched his little brother in silence. He finally understood. There might be no laws forbid Tsuna for going to the festival. Not even his parents or him as big brother but a certain raven haired man would. He was the only man in the royal palace who dares to treat both crown princes as if they were some common students. He would punish them hard or threaten them if they didn't obey him as their tutor. Sometimes it even involved violence like hitting, punching or kicking.

"Let me guess. Our dear tutor being unreasonable again?"

"Well, yes and no." Tsuna said with annoyed tone, "He didn't restrict me from going to festival. I only need to finish all the tasks he gave me this morning. Perfectly, of course. Then I'll get my permission."

"So, what's the problem? You haven't finished it?"

"Actually I've finished it. But because he was still in a meeting with the king for two hours straight, I can't tell him. Damn that stupid Reborn! How long does he intends to sit in the damn conference room?!" Tsuna yelled, letting out all his frustration.

Giotto raised his eyebrows, surprised that Tsuna who was usually shy dare to curse at Reborn, their devilish tutor. The brunette was certainly depressed enough till he dares to pull such dangerous act.

"Maybe the discussion is far more serious than before," explained Giotto, patting Tsuna's back gently as he tried to soothe him, "Why don't you just go then? I'll tell it to him for you."

Tsuna just stared at Giotto in silence as if he just heard something weird, making the older male felt both uncomfortable and confused.

"Why? Did I just say something weird?"

"No...I mean yes! Going without him giving permission was the same as suicide! Remember the last time we sneaked out from study room to go to the garden?"

"He threw _**Mille Sternatae Alica***_ to us without warning." Giotto replied. A sense of dread could be heard in his reply.

How could he forget that day. Two years ago, on the fifth day after Reborn, the kingdom counselor had been introduced by both their father, the king, as their new tutor to replace their former tutor. It was the first day he learnt to not make Reborn pissed off and it was also the day that converted him to a good disciple. It was never pleasant when it came to the price they must pay whenever they went against Reborn's set up rules even if it was just the lightest violation.

He's a strict with icy cold heart man and scary as evil. That's how his subordinates described Reborn. Some of them even said he was the reincarnation of devil itself. They - especially Giotto should have listened to the rumor about the kingdom counselor that was spreading around the palace. Being a bit too confident, Giotto ignored the rumor without taking further consideration, inviting Tsuna out for a little walk. He thought Reborn wouldn't be as harsh as he was towards his subordinates when he was facing both of the royal descendants. After all, their statuses were higher than their tutor who was only a counselor. None of their tutor dares to restrict or question them. They would just let them do as they pleased including skipping their lesson. It's not like there would be a huge problem though.

With that thought in mind, Giotto decided to cheer Tsuna up a bit by taking him to the garden as they usually did that afternoon. The little brunette was feeling a little tired from sitting behind the desks for hours, writing essays in latin after his math, social and politics lesson. Tsuna, as a good student, being more polite than his mischievous older brother, refused Giotto's offer at first. He tried to remind ...or warn Giotto, to be exact about the rumor that was spreading. The blond male assured him that everything would be fine, their tutor wouldn't be angry and Tsuna was being paranoid over this. The brunette then agreed and they went to the royal garden, thinking they would continue doing their homework after coming back from resting.

It was a complete peaceful day with a bright weather and blue painted the sky, a perfect day to go outside and lay on the soft green grass, enjoying the gentle caress of wind breeze. Everything seemed so peaceful, so right until Reborn showed up out of no where with a devilish smirk graced upon his lips, ending their little peaceful afternoon with the spell of thousand bullets. They ran like hell with countless bullets chased after them while Reborn just stood there, eyeing and following their every single movement. About three hours later, he finally cast another spell to stop those bullets from keep chasing them.

_"Sneaking out from study room without your tutor's permission is a sign of disrespect and I will not tolerate it. Now, you both don't think I've done with you, right?"_

Those words were still fresh in his mind and it echoed almost every time he planned to sneak out from Reborn's teaching session. It was not the only one thing he couldn't forget. It was something that was needless to say what happened after his brief speech. He multiplied their already assigned tasks including their training-a complete turn of events in which a peaceful day turned into a hell day.

Giotto shook his head. Remembering that day gave him an awful feeling.

"Fine. I understand. But are you really going to wait here all day long and missed the first day of the Sun Festival?" asked Giotto, looking at Tsuna who was now sighed for the umpteenth time.

"Hell no! If by an hour he still hasn't come out from the conference room, I'll go without his consent! Like hell I want to miss the important first day of Sun Festival." replied the brunette after considering it for a while.

Giotto smiled at his little brother's determined reply and ruffled Tsuna's hair. He was about to reply when suddenly he heard footsteps echoing through the room along with the soft and low baritone voice, "Need me to remind you about disrespect, dame disciples?"

"No! Thank you, Reborn!" Tsuna glared at both his and his brother's tutor who dressed in all black, "Besides, it's not like I go against any of your rules! I've already finished doing twenty pages of math, essay about Vongola Secondo in five languages you assigned me to do!"

"But I still haven't checked it. So, going directly would be considerably the same as disrespect towards your tutor, dame Tsuna." He said with both arms crossed in front his chest.

"What!? That's unfair! What if you actually spent the whole day in the conference room and it's would already be at night when you finally finished it? It's the same as missing the first day of Sun Festival! "

Reborn just smirked and ignored Tsuna completely to check his disciple's completed homework. He took the essay written in latin and read it quickly. There were a lot of mistakes, mostly at grammar, the same mistakes he found at another essay written in another different language. Then he glance at about a small pile of papers consist of math answers.

It would surely cost him a lot of time to check all these home works. He didn't have much time for it. He must prepare to receive the royal guests whose arrival had just been announced by the king at the end of the meeting. He only had half an hour to prepare everything. Plus, he didn't want the brunette to meet them. It supposed to be a secret for Tsuna until the time came. It was a secret plan which all the seven counselors had argued for over two hours in the conference hall with the king and finally agreed at the end of the meeting.

"Reborn, don't ignore me!" Tsuna yelled in annoyance. He threw dagger glares towards Reborn.

Meanwhile, Giotto just stood there in silence, watching them with both amusement and confusion. He was amused by Tsuna who now dared to voice his annoyance towards Reborn rather than keep silence and be a good obedient kid. On the other hand, he knew there was something bothering Reborn. The way the raven haired male looked and acted wasn't like the usual him. Giotto wasn't sure but his instinct said it might be related to the matter discussed in the meeting before.

'_Was it that serious this time_?' He thought, eyeing Reborn, not really care if Reborn realize or not being observed by him.

"As I guess. You've done a lot of mistakes, dame-Tsuna." Said Reborn, turning around and face the now pissed off looking little brunette.

"What?! You haven't even checked it fully yet! How could you-" His words were cut off.

"Questioning my ability, dame-Tsuna? Now, considering you've a lot of mistakes in your homework, talked back to your tutor, and had even planned to sneak out without permission...I want to reward you."

"What are you talking about?" Tsuna asked carefully, without tearing off his gaze at Reborn.

"Well...at first, I thought to not giving you your permission to go to festival but on the second thought, I'll let you go. However, you must complete three full pages essay about your experience on the first day of Sun Festival."

Tsuna eyes widened. "Why should I?"

"Accept it or refuse it, then stay in study room re-doing the essays and another round of math." He said, leaning on his one arm at the desk. He was almost running out of time but that didn't mean he could act differently, especially when he found so many mistakes in his younger disciple's works. He sighed inwardly even though he maintained a still cool and collected him at the outside.

"Fine," He replied in a huff, "I accept it."

Writing his experience in celebrating the Sun Festival was obviously a better choice rather than being trapped inside the boring study room for the whole day and could only enjoy watching the festival from the castle, which was far away. Besides it was Reborn. Expecting him to give his permission without any further conditions or homework was useless.

Reborn's smirk widened. "I see. You may go, then." Finally, he gave Tsuna his permission.

Tsuna sighed inwardly and walked quickly towards the door, not wanting to show any further sign of annoyance he felt towards his tutor for being such a jerk, scared that it would change his tutor's final decision about his permission. When he was about to say goodbye to Giotto, his tutor added, "Just for your information, your highness. Two guards will escort you during your walk in the festival and your curfew would still be 6 in the evening. Have a nice day."

Tsuna nodded briefly and bid his goodbye to his elder brother. "See you later, Giotto-nii. Make sure to join me after you're done with your music lesson."

Giotto, in return, just waved his hand and smiled at his younger brother. Once he made sure the door was closed tightly and Tsuna was far enough from the study room, he shifted his gaze, eyeing Reborn with a questioning look. "So, what is it?"

"Just giving your little brother his permission."

"Don't play dumb, Reborn. You know I'm asking your reason for giving him permission without sparring time to check his works first. It has something to do with the matter discussed in the meeting, right?"

Silence filled the air as both of them just stood there, exchanging look.

Reborn wasn't surprised at the question; he had expected it judging by the way Giotto looked at him before Tsuna left the room. He was silent because he hadn't planned to tell him about it first for the plan still needed further discussion and still far from agreement. Perhaps...not too far but at least not that close to agreement for this was a new issue occurred due to a change in situation related to the previous agreement.

"It's about the engagement along with its latest issue. For that, the king and queen had already set up a new plan but it still needs to be discussed with the other parties." He replied honestly, earning a brief nod from Giotto. Reborn didn't cover the truth because Giotto was not an outsider in this matter. He was the one involved in the previous engagement. It's because he, by any chance, had already found out about it including the current situation which forced the previous engagement to break off.

"A new plan...," Giotto murmured, "Or should I say _a secret plan_ _for Tsuna_. That's why you gave him permission even though you're not satisfied with his results. To whom my brother will be engaged with?"

"The sibling who belonged to your previous fiancé."

Giotto's eyes widening upon hearing Reborn's reply. He didn't dislike it. Just the engagement itself was a bit odd.

"So, father and mother still insist on following grandpa Timoteo's will? But that's a-"

"Half violation against the old tradition. I along other six counselors know it. However, it's done to honor the former king's will."

No matter where it was seen from, there's always a way for this engagement to be called as violation against the old tradition because a violation, whether half or whole violation, was still a violation. Giotto didn't get it. How the ninth could be so careless? How could he make such promise when he didn't even know whether there would be a female or male royal descendants as both Giotto and Tsuna hadn't even been born while he made that vow with the father of his previous fiancé.

"Tsuna...," Giotto's voice trailed away, "He will be quite surprise when he finds out about his fiancé." He muttered.

"Perhaps." A brief reply was what became Reborn's response. He sighed inwardly, imagining how the young brunette would react when he found out about this. It was, probably a lot worse than Giotto's reaction. But came to think of it again, why wouldn't he surprise if he found out that he was engaged with a man?

A soft knock on the door broke the silence filling the room, "Come in." Reborn said briefly.

The door cracked upon, revealing a humbly dressed young girl who worked as a maid in the royal palace. "I'm sorry for the interruption, Your Highness and Lord Reborn. The royal guests have already arrived."

"Are all the preparations done?"

"Yes, Lord Reborn."

"You may go, then."

The young girl, then, bowed respectively towards Giotto and Reborn before excusing herself from the room.

"They're here already, then. Can I also join the conversation?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but I believe the king would want Your Highness to attend the music lesson. I'm sure you don't want to disappoint your younger brother for not being able to perform well in his birthday party."

Giotto felt a sudden heavy burden on his shoulders, making him shrink inwardly. "I believe it's still a plan of yours that you're going to suggest to father, Reborn." He said, glaring at Reborn.

Reborn just smirked, not giving any replies, ignoring Giotto, as he walked across the room. "Shall we, Prince Giotto di Cielo?" asked Reborn politely while opening the door, gesturing Giotto to walk out first from the room.

Giotto said nothing in return but kept glaring at Reborn while he passed him. When Reborn was about to close the door, he stopped his steps and muttered softly, "Just tell me whatever the conversation is. See you, Reborn." He said, continuing his walk towards the music hall.

"I'll consider it, dame-Giotto."

And with that, both of them continued their own walk towards two different places in the palace. Reborn headed towards the main royal garden where the royal guests who was the family of Tsuna's soon-to-be fiancé were chatting along with the King and Queen. This was certainly going to be a long conversation.

* * *

_After the union, other six former kingdoms became six noble families. Each of them was in charged with six different positions in royal palace. As the years passed by, the mutual relationship slowly turned into a strong friendship. Never did betrayal cross their mind even once. They protected each other in their own unique way. _

_Cielo being the understanding and protector, accepting everyone despite their differences and giving everyone influences like a sky._

_Tempesta being a never rest furious storm that was continuously at the heart of the attack._

_Pioggia being a blessed shower; settles conflict and washes everything away._

_Nuvola being the aloof drifting cloud; protects the kingdom from independent standpoint and whom nothing could ever bind._

_Nebbia being the creator, which creates something from nothing, and nothing from something; bewilders the enemy, rendering the true form intangible, with visions of deceit._

_Sereno being the bright sun shining upon an area and destroyer of misfortune who attacks with their own body. _

_Fulmine being the lightning rod, drawing damage to self and away from others._

_The ace among seven of them was Nuvola whose strength surpassed others. Each generation of Nuvola was guaranteed to be born with intelligent, strength and great talent in magic. However..._

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**Somewhere far from the palace, at a luxurious mansion...**

"Today you're going to practice magic together with Alaude, your older brother. That way, he can help you whenever there's difficulty for you to perform a spell. Get it, Kyoya?"

The said raven haired boy glared annoyingly at the 30 year old man sitting at the large wooden table across him. Anger as well as disappointment begin to boil inside his heart.

"No." was what his answer and that's final.

Ignoring whatever his father's words to make him stay, he stormed out from the room and headed directly towards his room at the second floor. When he was about to reach his room's door, he heard another set of soft steps right behind, following behind his steps. It must be Alaude, he thought as he slammed his door shut before standing by the window, ready to jump down.

"Where are you going, Kyoya?" asked Alaude, the light blond male, when he guessed his younger brother's intention, stepping into the bed room.

"Mind your own business, herbivore." and after the brief answer, he jumped and landed smoothly on the grass in brief seconds and directly headed to the front gate.

What he needed right now was some time alone, far from his family. He wanted to forget this dissatisfaction in his heart caused by them.

He wasn't angry because his father asked him to practice magic. He didn't dislike magic or hate it either. In fact, he always admired magic for it being miraculous and beautiful. He still remembered it when he was small; he kept sneaking in his father's training room, watching him and his elder brother practicing. That time, he hoped that he would quickly bloom into a great wizard like his ancestors and parents. There must be some ways for him to master all the magic skills despite the fact of not possessing any magic ability when he was born. However, as years passed by, he was slowly convinced by proofs that he didn't have any talents in magic. No matter how hard he tried...no matter how good the teacher his family hired...he still couldn't perform a simple magic.

No. He didn't completely fail in performing simple magic. He could but it needed a lot of effort to do it.

It's a whole different situation from his elder brother, Alaude who could perform it effortlessly. It's like there's no any magic that was too difficult for him to learn. If he couldn't do it by today, then three days later, he could perform it although it still couldn't be classified into expert or flawless but it had already been definitely much better than before. For that talent, every people around him had always complimented him, called him a genius while at the same time, they would compared him with Kyoya, whether it was on purpose or not.

That was when he first learnt what envy meant. He envied his own elder brother for his talent in magic, something that he was lacking in. When he found out that there was no way for him to beat his elder brother, to proof that he also had the great talent in magic, he started hating Alaude.

So, basically, practicing magic together with Alaude under the same tutor could be counted as the same as comparing him to his elder brother. Accepting it would mean that he admitted losing to his elder brother. That's why he always ran away when it came to practicing magic.

He sighed, kicking the small rock under his feet. He didn't get it-why there was no one in his family that could see his true talent? Even though his talent was totally different from what his family had been expected but he had possessed talent in martial arts as well as to be able to communicate with animals. It was not a bad thing. Why couldn't they be proud of him like they are towards Alaude?

_'Was it wrong to be different?'_ He thought while looking at the far end of the small stream which flowed through under the small bridge he was standing at now, enjoying the serene atmosphere.

Suddenly, a loud growl slapped him awake from the daydream. It must have been emitting from his stomach for he only ate a bit during lunch. Luckily for him, he walked to the bridge rather than going directly to his favorite secret hiding place-a big tree right in the middle of forest-by taking shortcut. He loved to spend most of his time up on that tree. It was far nearer for him to the market so he could buy food to eat as soon as he reached the place.

With that sudden decision made up, he then threw one last glance towards the stream before leaving the bridge and walked straight to the market.

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_-To be continued-_

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***Translations :**

**__****Fête du Soleil = Sun Festival**

**__****__****Period d'Eclipse = Eclipse Period**

**__****__****__****Magica sonus et vox = Magic of Sound and Voice**

**__****__****__****__****Mille Sternatae Alica = Thousand Bullets Spell**

**********I'm using 'google translate' for the latin word so please, forgive me if there's any mistakes with the latin words. **

**So? How is the story? ^^...Please, let me know what your opinion by leaving the review. Also any suggestions and critiques will be welcomed. **

**See you all in the next chapter. ^^...Have a nice day.**

**-Whiteberry- **


	3. First Encounter

**Hello everyone!**

**Here is the second chapter! Maybe you all think why it takes me so fast in updating the second chapter. Well...this chapter was originally a part of the previous chapter but then, I decided to separate it because it is too long. **

**Thank you for those who faves and follows, especially Belle-Kurama-style-bankai and Koneko-sempai who also left the reviews. ^^...**

**And...special thanks to Daylite for the help in editing sentence construction, grammars in this story. ^^**

**Just for information :**

Normal

_Narration_

_'Thoughts'_

_Emphasis_

**_Latin words_**

**So...here it is. The second chapter. **

**Hope you all enjoy the story. **

**Disclaimer : I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or any of its characters.**

* * *

**Chapter Two. First Encounter**

* * *

_It was never a leisure city. Busy and crowded were the best words to describe the whole town. With the celebration of festival, the city was far livelier than ever, even the residents were sleepless at night. The melancholic autumn suddenly turned into a bright autumn as the celebration brought warmth along with cheers, laughter and joys to the town._

* * *

**At the market, near the town hall... **

Two men who were dressed formally in royal guard uniform with one arm holding a sharp spear while a shield was gripped firmly at the other hand and a sword tied tightly to their waist band, was seemed to be investigating all around the town, mostly at the most crowded place.

"Have you found the second prince?" Panic was drawn all over his expression while he was looking around in the crowd, trying to search for the second crown prince of the Vongola, Tsunayoshi di Cielo.

"Not yet. Let's split up again to look for him. We only have few hours before evening or should I say...before we face a very pissed counselor Reborn." said the second man in the same panicky voice but there was a bit tone of warning in it.

The man who asked the question just now, gulped at the statement. He knew the risk he- both of them would face as a guard if they failed in their mission to guard Prince Tsunayoshi di Cielo during His Highness's walk at the Sun Festival. They wouldn't be fired or thrown into jail but before that they would face a very pissed of counselor Reborn. Of course it wouldn't be a pleasant chattering, of course, for them.

However, of all people that would be angry to them, no one could ever be scarier than the overprotective elder brother, Prince Giotto di Cielo. If he knew what happened, they would become dead meat.

Just the thoughts of it were enough to send shivers down their spine. It was at the same level as nightmare for it was a pure torture itself.

"We'll meet again here within one and a half hours. Use the 'signal' once you found him."

"Same with you."

With that, they parted on their ways. One went right and the other to the left. They didn't even realize the mischievous gaze of a pair of brown eyes belonged to a young boy who was standing near the florist seller. A smirk flashed across his young face as he made sure both guards were far enough so he could leave the shop without being noticed by them.

_'My disguise works well. With this plain outfit, they would hardly recognize me.'_ the brown haired boy praised himself silently as he quickly paid the lady for the Baby Breath flowers he bought.

"Wait a minute, young boy." called the lady when he was about to leave the shop, "Take this Sun Flower with you."

"For me?"

"Yes. It's a common tradition of giving Sun Flower during the Sun Festival for wishing someone to have bright and beautiful days."

The brown haired boy smiled brightly as he replied 'thank you' to the lady and handed her another Sun Flower, placing on her stall made of wood along with a golden coin to pay the flower. "This is for you. May you have a bright and beautiful day, too madam." He said, earning thanks and smile from that lady.

After that he turned around and walked along with the crowd, enjoying the fascinating sight of the Sun Festival. To be free without guards behind him, watching his every move, meant absolute freedom for him. It meant not being bind by royal rules or having to announce his existence as a prince among the commoners. Besides, he himself didn't like to be guarded when he walked among citizens, especially during his first time participating in such a commemoration like the Sun Festival.

That's why he decided to act as a good kid until he saw the guards glance to another side; he then changed his outfit with just one snap of his finger and detached himself from them to the nearest shop which later he knew as florist shop. He lowered the hat he wearing. His back was facing them. It made him hardly recognizable as the second crown prince of Vongola, Tsunayoshi di Cielo and of course, it made him blend in easily with the crowds.

"Be quick! The street violinists are going to perform in a minute!"

"Yeah! Yeah! We know! Just slow down a bit, damn it! We're already close to that fountain!"

_'A street performance? Sounds nice.'_ Tsuna thought as he took quick steps to follow that group of kids who was shouted pass him.

He felt so excited...too excited to fail to realize there was someone in front of him. The collision was unavoidable. They bumped into each other, making the other fell on his back with Tsuna on his top, head on his chest.

"Ouch!" he yelped while rubbing his sore spot right at his forehead, quickly getting up from his...uncomfortable position.

"So-" Tsuna blinked confusedly, not finishing his sentence. That guy he bumped into was not in front him anymore but was now standing and seemed to search for something on the ground. Something small, perhaps. Tsuna wasn't sure what was it but he also didn't get up from his sitting position. He also was looking at the ground in front him, trying to help the raven to search that _something_.

* * *

_One could say it was a coincidence. Others could call it fate, a synonym for destiny._

* * *

The two things Kyoya remembered before somebody bumped into him was the bread he gripped firmly on his right hand and a fresh red apple he was playing with his left hand. The apple was now lost somewhere, in the middle of...thousands of legs that belonged to the passing crowd. He needed to find it quickly before the apple was crushed. How could someone eat after an apple that had been stomped especially there was not only one person stepping on it? He didn't like the idea of losing one of his foods that he planned to eat whenever he felt hungry at his hiding place.

Kyoya promised himself he was going to bite those who stomped on his apple to death. That's after he bit the person who bumped into him just now, the one responsible for his lost of the apple.

However that's not the most important thing for Kyoya now but the lost apple was. He sharpened his eyes, trying to search for his apple.

The search was fruitless. It pissed him off. Kyoya did not have the intention to give up on searching for it. The apple was his FAVORITE food. He was going to find it no matter what even if the apple had already been in a bad condition. Although he would throw it away in the end but at least, he knew his apple's condition which he preferred to obtain it rather than having his apple lost somewhere. It might sound a bit childish but it's important to him.

Kyoya tried to sharpen his eyes once more, trying to search for it carefully this time. He scanned every area around him. It was not too long...less than half minute until he spotted the striking red apple in contrast with the dull color of asphalt.

He found it!

Luckily for him, the apple was not too far from him and was definitely in a good condition. He ran quickly and picked it up, cleaning it from dust and wiping it till its skin looked shiny red under the sunlight. Feeling satisfied after getting the apple back in his hand, he decided to continue his way to his secret hiding place when he remembered the brunette. If he was correct, the one bumped into him was a young boy whose age seemed about two years younger than him and his hair was brown in color.

Then, he walked back to where the brunette was and was quite amused to see that the brunette was still there. Usually people would just run when they knew that they had bump into him or made him pissed off but this boy was different. Instead of running away while he was busy looking for the apple, he just sat still there with eyes looking towards the grey colored asphalt.

Was he trying to help Kyoya search for this certain little red thing or he was just too stunned to run away? Whatever the reason was, Kyoya wasn't interested. He's just a little amused; it didn't mean that he had developed a further interest towards that kid.

That had been his thought before it all altered as soon as the boy looked up at him. He found it hard to tear his gaze away from the brunette.

There was something warm, gentle and innocent in those brown orbs, something that was a totally different from his cold, steel blue eyes. He couldn't explain it for there were no words could explain how he liked those brown orbs. He just...loved it. All that sudden interest had made Kyoya speechless. He completely forgot what he wanted to say to that brunette. It was like everything-...his world...the time-froze.

All he could do was to stretch his hand out towards the brunette that was still sitting. "Do you want this apple?" He asked unconsciously, locking his gaze with the brunette's eyes.

Did he do this because this boy looked small, fragile and...cute?

Well...he always had a strange soft spottowards something small and cute. Whether it was animal or human, as long as it was cute, he would act gently and nice to them. It was probably the same with this boy. Instead of being angry to him for dropping his dear apple, he was being gentle towards the brunette.

* * *

Rather than accepting the apple, Tsuna was just sitting there, looking straight to the raven boy's eyes. The way they shined under the Sun was almost like a sapphire instilled with shades of steel color, a calm beautiful color that reminded him of the cold during winter. There was no such warmth or gentleness in those eyes. If anything, it was nearly a combination of elegance, superiority and... It felt myth-like, despite the coldness that was resonating in his eyes.

One would surely feel intimidated by them but to be honest, he felt nothing but pure amazement and attraction towards those beautiful steel blue orbs to the point of being unable to look away from them. It was as if all his being was drawn into them, making him unable to move or utter any word, almost like he's under hypnosis.

Tsuna didn't know why he felt this attracted. He couldn't explain it.

He couldn't because...probably he didn't have any reasons at all. Come to think of it again, did anyone need any reason to be attracted to something so beautiful?

They were just simply astonishing. Never had he seen such beautiful eyes. Everyone would surely admire the beauty possessed by these orbs if they're not too intimidated by the eyes which emitted the aura of superiority. It was, after all, natural.

"Prince Tsunayoshi!"

All of a sudden, a shout shouting his name was heard from someone in the crowd, setting his whole world back into motion again much to his annoyance. Tsuna recognized the voice-it belonged to one of the two guards that were ordered to escort him, guard him during his walk at the Sun Festival.

Tsuna glanced to where the sound came and found that the guard stood just about ten people away from him. It was just a matter of time before being found out by them if he didn't get away from there as quick as possible.

There was no way Tsuna would let himself back under surveillance of the boring guard and to miss the fun for not being able to explore the festival in detail. Plus, he hadn't even enjoyed one bit of this festival!

"Come with me!" Tsuna said, almost yelling while grabbing the raven's hand after taking the apple from that hand, saving his thanks for later when he was already far enough from the guard.

Never did Tsuna release his grip from that hand, not even for a one second. They kept running...or actually, he kept pulling the boy all the way until they reached the fifth district. It was where the renowned public library of Vongola Kingdom was built.

Its formation resembled to a castle, only with less towers. Among all the towers was one that was higher than any other. It was tall enough so anyone standing there could have a bird's eye view of the place. A gigantic bell hung on its ceiling; it was huge enough that the tip of the bell almost touched the ground. The whole body of the bell glistened under the shimmering sunset. It was gold from top to bottom, and the slightest detail which was craved on it was also made of gold.

The library was known as _**Aurea Turris***_ which literally meant as golden tower. It was said to be the gathering place for knowledge, which was not only magic, that was spread in different parts of the world.

As both of them arrived inside, Tsuna quickly ran into the back hallway which would directly connect them with the path to the highest tower. Tsuna looked around, making sure the corridor was deserted and no one saw him pressing his palm to the stone wall that beside the stairs located right at the corner of corridor's end.

Slowly, the wall began to open into a human size vertical rectangle. Its height was just tall enough to accommodate adults of 1.8m. Meanwhile the lines started to attach themselves to each other in the middle of the door, forming an engraving symbol of Vongola Kingdom. The surroundings quieted down, there was no noisy cracking sounds falling to their eardrums that might echo through the hallway because there was a barrier covering their near surrounding.

The formation was completed and now, a door without knob lay in front of them.

Stretching out his arm, Tsuna placed smoothly pressed on the stone door using his palm like he did before. A straight line started to grow at the center of both top and bottom of the door, continuing until both ends reached touches, forming a smooth crack that split the door into two. Then, each side started to slide in opposite direction; one to the left and other to the right; showing them a small dusty room. The only source of light inside it was a torch that was hung on the left wall.

Tsuna pushed the raven into the room. Once they were inside, the door slid close while at the same time, a sound of something cracking was heard, like the wall was being shaken slightly. When the door closed completely, a white blinding light engulfed them both. Tsuna closed his eyes and unconsciously raised one of his arm in front his face to protect his eyes from the bright white light.

The next moment he opened his eyes, he found himself already at the highest tower of _**Aurea Turris***_. The gigantic golden bell that was hung in the middle of it was the proof. He took a deep breath, and looked around the room with excitement filled his eyes. Although it wasn't his first time coming here, it never made him bored. He always loved it here, not only because the whole town scenery was so beautiful under the Sunset but also because he could watch the entire city from the above. It gave him a sensation of flying, an experience of what it felt like to be a bird.

With his mind being too occupied with the scenery in front of him, Tsuna completely forgot about the raven haired boy he pulled all the way here.

* * *

It was unusual for Kyoya.

It was so unlike the usual him to let a stranger drag him all the way freely to wherever place that stranger wanted. The stranger who was a young brunette with age maybe about two years younger than him.

For Kyoya...to show no protest or sign of displeasure, even his famous "I'll bite you to death" was unheard when that brunette dragged him by force was the same as throwing his pride away, letting it be stomp on like it was nothing. It felt as worse as him being compared with his elder brother, not only by others but also his own family.

Maybe he sounded too much. But no.

No one could ever order him.

No one could ever dictate him.

No one could ever force him.

He would never bow down to anyone except to the King himself or to the one he admitted was definitely better than him, stronger than him.

All because he was Kyoya Nuvola or Hibari Kyoya in short.

The others would always remain as herbivores in his eyes, lower than him who was a carnivore. Even if...that someone was this certain cute little brunette that had gained his attention. That brunette was no exception as an herbivore.

Then why?

If that brunette was not an exception, then why he didn't react when that cute herbivore dragged him by force?

Why did Kyoya just keep his mouth shut and follow wherever that cute herbivore went?

Kyoya found this strange. It was as if he couldn't bring himself to threaten or yell at his newfound herbivore.

Was it because Kyoya found some similarities in the herbivore's action despite him being cute?

Seeing panic fill the expression of that herbivore while they were still in the market and the way he took his steps in a rush as if that herbivore was in a need to avoid someone badly, Kyoya assumed that that little plant eater was running away from someone or a group. Or maybe this brunette was like him which in his case was running away from obligation to study.

By the way...

_'isn't this...the renowned bell of __**Aurea Turris**__?'_ Kyoya thought as he took a step forward to have a better view at the engraving detail of Vongola Kingdom crest at the golden bell. Admiring the way every part of it was carved carefully to its utmost detail along with the smoothened surface that was shining mystically in golden by Sunset. It was truly a professional work of art. No wonder that it was known as the most famous treasure of Vongola Kingdom.

All this time, Kyoya just heard of his parents or others speaking about how beautiful and mystical the gigantic golden bell, it would only rang twice a year; at the end of year and at New Year's Day_**. **_So, he could only imagine, questioning how magnificent the golden bell actually was, being able to earn the pride of the entire citizens of the Kingdom. Much to Kyoya's curiosity about the bell's appearance, imagining it had been the farthest thing he could do.

There was a restriction for citizens; whether it was commoner or a noble to enter the highest tower of _**Aurea Turris **_as _only royals were allowed to enter__. _

Perhaps..._allowed_ was not the actual statement the law meant.

Maybe...royals were the only ones that _be able to enter_ the highest tower of _**Aurea Turris**_.

Whatever it was between those two possibilities, Kyoya didn't really care or so he thought. It wasn't his problem. What was the most important for him now was that he already seen how the bell looked like and..._the true identity of the brunette stood before him now_.

Like what was said before...only royals were able or allowed to enter the highest tower of _**Aurea Turris**_.

That brunette, however, didn't appear like a royal. The clothes that wrapped around his slim body are of an affordable price and although it seemed soft, it was nothing compared to the finest quality of silk used to make royal's clothes. Its quality was even far from the clothes he or other nobles wore now. That boy was just so..._common; wearing what commoners would wear_. Getting up here would be considered as heavy violation against the law. The punishment would be jail or to be exiled to deserted forest in the South.

_'Who is this herbivore?'_ Kyoya stared at the brunette who was now leaning on his arm against the window and looking at the view with joy overwhelming his expression, glancing at the surroundings intensely.

_'How could that brunette be still so calm, enjoying the scenery after violating the law?'_

_'How could that little herbivore enter the highest tower of __**Aurea Turris**____and even bring someone with him?'_

_'Has that plant eater gone mad already?'_

Questions spun around in Kyoya's head, causing a migraine, but he left his questions unvoiced. He couldn't bring himself to ask it. He just...didn't want to ruin the rare serene atmosphere that had calmed his mind.

However, fate said otherwise.

The little moment of his was ruined when faint sounds of footsteps were heard. Being captured and accused as the culprit were never in any of Kyoya's schedule. With Kyoya's physical strength and abilities being above average, slipping out from the tower without getting caught was never a hard thing to do. After jumping out to the roof, Kyoya carefully stepped on it and got into a window that seemed like a corridor. Being sure that no one was looking at him, Kyoya then jumped in and paced through the right wing of it which led to the large reading hall filled with hundreds racks of books.

Most people in it didn't realize him. Well, it's natural to walk in the library and the others were just too busy with their books, chatting or discussions to pay attention to what the other was doing.

He smirked inwardly, feeling happy and satisfied for succeeding to run away.

That person was enough to turn his good mood into the foul one.

"I can see that you're having a good time, Kyoya."

There was only one person that could make all the joy in Kyoya's heart turn into anger and hatred.

The said person that shared the same features and behaviors with him, with Kyoya having black hair, that guy had light blond hair.

There were no sweet gestures or warmth in his voice and stares.

"For you to search for me, that must have something to do with that old man, Alaude." said Kyoya coldly without even sparring glance towards his elder brother.

"It was mother. She demanded you to be home."

"Whatever." Kyoya said, walking pass his brother.

A small sigh escaped Alaude's lips. "You sure never learn, Kyoya." He said in a cold menacing voice.

It was not long until Kyoya felt his body betrayed him. His back was no longer facing his elder brother and despite walking away from there, he took each step closer to Alaude. His damn elder brother must have used his spell against him! Much to Kyoya's displeasure, he was now starting to follow behind his elder brother.

Kyoya tried to fight it but it was a futile attempt. The more he fought it, the more the spell felt stronger against him.

How he hated this situation! He hated being under someone else's controls especially if it was his elder brother!

* * *

_But the certain thing was their encounter...whether it's because of fate or coincidence...it was not a common meeting._

* * *

Tsuna, being oblivious to his surroundings, didn't even realize that Hibari had gone from that room, leaving him alone by himself. It seemed that he was too occupied with the sight along with his new overwhelmed feelings.

Happiness.

A feeling that invited smile to graze on his small red lips. He was happy for being able to escape from guards and came here just right in time to witness the town was bathing in Sunset, watching the whole city glitter in orange. It was a perfect sight while at the same time was also a rare sight for him. He might live up high in the castle but the sight was never the same compared to sight looking from high above the _**Aurea Turris**__**5)**_. Both were beautiful under the Sunset but each of them had their own unique beauty.

Aside from the beautiful sight of town, bringing someone to share this little moment with was another actual thing that made him happy.

Maybe it sounded like he had already planned to take that raven haired boy along with him to here from the start when he was called out by the guard. To tell the truth...it was all coincidence.

When one of the guards called out his name in such a close distance, panic was rushed up in him. Running away was the only thing appeared in his mind. He didn't have time to instruct the raven haired boy to not say anything if anyone happened to ask whether he had seen him or not. So, he just grabbed the boy's wrist, not even caring if it would displease the raven. What he cared the most now was to find a good hiding place for him from the disturbing guards.

Crowds sounded nice. Their heights were still possible for them to hide amongst the crowds. However, they couldn't hide forever in the crowds. It was too risky for the possibility of getting captured was too high.

At the time like this, alleys seemed tempting as a nice hiding place. Yet, it had never been his choice. It was dark and too quiet even in daylight, the chance of drawing problems to them were too big. As much as people loved him, there were also people who intended to take advantage from him. So...no.

It was then, a place flashed in his mind.

A place where only royals were allowed to enter. Not even royal guards held the right to bark into that place.

_**The golden chamber of Aurea Turris**__**  
**_

Without a second thought, he then hastily went there along with the raven whose hand he had never let go during their run. He was taking the shortcut instead of the usual path corridors used by the royals whenever they feel like paying a visit to the golden chamber. The rest of what he did, after he arrived at the end of the quite corridor, right below the stairs was history.

Tsuna sighed in relief. Finally he could have a peaceful time although it cause him to enjoy the Sun Festival from high above, without using his binoculars, of course. But it's okay. The scenery up here was worth it.

Wait...speaking of bringing someone, he completely forgot about the raven's existence. How rude of him!

"Sorry for ignoring you. What's your name by...the...way...?" His voice trailed away as he was dumbfounded, finding no one behind him.

He looked and wandered around; trying to find a clue of the raven haired boy's existence but there was no one there. It was just the golden, gigantic bell and him alone.

_'Where did he go? He couldn't be just stepping out from here, right?! What if he was captured by guards?!' _He thought with panic clouding his expression and was going to rush over the door when suddenly, the door cracked open and a blond haired male stepped in with a wide smile on his face.

"There you are, dear little Tuna!" said Giotto in a relieved tone.

"Giotto-nii?" Called Tsuna in a surprise tone.

"What's up with you? Getting surprised by my presence all the time today?"

"Really? Maybe it is just your imagination. I mean...you appeared suddenly so it's natural for me being surprised, right?"

Giotto stared back at Tsuna for a while before ruffling his brother's soft brown locks, "You got a point. By the way, mind to explain why you're running away from the guards?"

"A-aa…That's because...," Tsuna replied groggily, "That's because I feel uncomfortable being escorted by guards. They would attract too much attention." He said while connecting both his two pointers and hung his head low.

Giotto giggled at his little brother's action. "I understand, Tsuna. But you know, I nearly got heart attack when I heard you're lost somewhere in the town." He said, ruffling his brother's hair again.

"So, you're saying that you're leaving your music lesson? What if Reborn found out?"

"It's okay! He was the one that let me leave while he was, of course, 'entertaining' those two guards."

"Ow...I hope they won't severely get punished. After all, half of this incident was actually my fault." said Tsuna. His voice was full of guilt.

Giotto gently grabbed his younger brother's hand and smiled at him, trying to ease Tsuna's worry. "It's okay, dear little brother. They'll be just fine. Why don't we just go home so that you can make sure of their well being?"

Tsuna nodded at Giotto, smiling. His mood had lightened up a bit.

"Sure, Giotto-nii." He said, walking beside his older brother as they exited that room.

Before the door in front of him was entirely closed, he peeked inside once more through the small hole created between the door and its frame, making sure once again that the room was completely empty.

It was impossible for someone to hide inside the room because there was no additional room built in it.

Tsuna sighed in disappointment. One thing that made his mood fall into a bad state that day was because he missed the chance to know who the raven haired boy was. However, he wasn't completely disappointed for he believed that they would meet again.

He didn't know why...

He was just sure of it.

* * *

_Their first encounter...was the beginning of the story. It's was all where this legend started._

* * *

_._

_._

_._

_To be continued_

* * *

**_*Translation :_**

**_Aurea Turris = Golden Tower_**

**^^...What do you think about the story? Hehehe...please leave your reviews. **

**Any suggestions and critiques will be welcomed. **

**See you all in the next chapter. ^^...Have a nice day.**

**-Whiteberry- **


	4. Invitation

**Hi, everyone! Thank you for the faves and follows. And special thanks to them who left reviews : **

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**They mean so much for me. ^^...Really thanks for all the supports.  
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**^^...By the way, here is the beta-ed version of Chapter Three. Big thanks to Daylite for the help of beta-ed my story. XD XD XD...*Glomps*  
**

_Narration_

_Emphasis_

_"Flashback conversation"_

"Present conversation"

**Disclaimer : I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! **

**Hope you all enjoy the new version of chapter three. Love you all! See you~**

**-Whiteberry-**

* * *

**Chapter Three. Invitation**

* * *

_Seconds passed by and changed into minutes ..._

_Minutes passed by and changed into hours..._

_Hours passed by and soon noon was taken over by night..._

___And one week passed unwittingly since the seventh day of Sun Festival which was held for only a week. Even so...all the feelings felt during the festival still lingered._

* * *

His favorite day was one of the complicated things in his life. Aside from him being compared with his said perfect elder brother, this was the annoying thing that could give him more than just a headache or a mere irritation. It was a complete combination of rage, annoyance and desperation. Well...how could he not? The day he deemed as the most favorite was also the day when he felt both free and trapped at the same time.

_Like today._

Anyone would be happy with holidays even if it was just a day. A holiday meant day with rest from daily routines. It was a total vacation without obligations which in Kyoya's case was bunch of studies and practices. He was supposed to be free from all his daily tasks as the young heir of Nuvola family.

Judging by the presence of the word _**suppose**_, it meant that he didn't need to do his daily tasks but he need to fulfill another obligation instead. And it was none other than to have deal with crowds? The whole Nuvola Family was invited to the second prince's birthday party at the palace tonight which his family responded excitedly. Well said that that situation made him ought to attend the birthday party in courtesy of his mother although they all - the whole Nuvola Family knew too well that he couldn't stand the crowd.

_"Next week, a grand party will be held at the royal palace to celebrate the birthday of their youngest member, the second prince of Vongola. All nobles are invited and so, wasn't it a good chance for you to step out from your little solitude world, Kyoya?"_

The others could possibly thought it as a suggestion but Kyoya would never fall into it. Behind the sickening sweet smile and the soft tone of his mother was a threat. It was neither a suggestion nor a question. There was never a question mark behind the last sentence his mother just stated out. It was an order. There was no room for refusal.

He was left with no options but to accept the (ridiculous) idea or so, his mother thought. Considering that this was Kyoya Nuvola, being forced was never in his dictionary. Like he always said, no one even if it's his parents could ever dictate him. He may seem to surrender to his mother's order but deep inside his heart and mind, a scheme to escape had already started to form. Childish? No. Rather than childish, he preferred to be called reasonable. It's not a secret that he couldn't stand to be near or being in the crowd. Then, why should he force himself to attend an event which contained crowds, something he obviously hated?

So, here he was more than ready to execute the plan that would let him escape from his own house. Somehow, doing so made him feel like a prisoner that was trying to escape. His family would start busy themselves when the Sun was set at the West which meant now. Not wasting any more time, he quickly stepped out from his room and paced quietly through the corridors that connected with the large main hall at the end of it. Just because of down his bedroom window and other usual escape route were being guarded by several guards with excellent skills in magic; didn't mean that he would just give up his plan to escape. If anything, he became more excited for the challenge was higher.

He glanced around before went across the main hall quietly, making sure he was completely alone there. He was so close in just few inches to the main door when he heard his name was being called gently by the lady of Nuvola, his mother.

"Kyoya Nuvola, where do you intend to go?"

The raven sighed inwardly upon hearing the usual tone she would use whenever she found her son went against her. His mother was currently displeased by his attempt to abandon her order. By his years of experience, Kyoya knew it would never be good to deal with her current state.

"Kyoya, I'm waiting." She said, reminded the quiet raven haired boy about her presence was not to be ignored. He frowned as he thought if only he had the ability to make himself invisible, Kyoya would use it to avoid any contact with his mother.

"None of your business." He replied in a cold voice while throwing a sharp dagger glare towards the woman whose age was around 40. She dressed elegantly in dark purple dress decorated with black laces and pearls hug around her slim waist. She seemed ready to go to a party. The only thing that was lack from her was that her hair was still undone. It was too plain for attending such a grand party. One could tell that she definitely was still in the middle of preparation when she decided to stop her second son from going anywhere.

"I'd remind you in case that you forget. I'm your mother, my dear son. Remember?"

"Just because you're my mother, it doesn't mean I need to report to you wherever the place I'll be going. I have my own freedom." He answered.

That's it. This side was what Lady Nuvola found as the most annoying side from Kyoya. Aside from being cute, it could be a test to her real short patience especially when his stubbornness got the best of him.

"You do have your own freedom but you're still part of the Nuvola. Your absence at the royal grand party will not do any good impression about our family. Besides, like I said before, isn't it time for you to learn things outside your own little dream world?"

"You as Lady Nuvola also should have known that never once this family care about what others think, mother." He replied bluntly, not even care if his words would only irk his mother more, "And I still prefer to breathe a fresh air rather than be in a small crowded place with fake atmosphere." He added with a smirk while turning his heels and walked towards the main entrance.

Kyoya knew that the way he acted towards his mother was rude but there was no way he agreed to be near to something he disliked. Since small, he always had this strange allergy towards crowds. No reasons but just pure dislike without any chance to be reduced. He could tolerate it but not for long. However this was a party; a grand party-to be exact. The chance to stay far from crowds was certainly reduced to almost zero. Needless to say that it would be hard for him to find a somewhat quiet place as no one was allowed to wander freely in the royal palace.

"It's not as fake as you thought. There are always signs of true sincerity if you pay close attention, young man." His mother said while swaying her hand gently in the air, making the atmosphere around the room tensed suddenly and somehow felt frozen.

Kyoya's eyes widened as he realized the sudden change of atmosphere. He tried to move from that room as fast as he could but before he could do it, his leg already felt so heavy like there was an iron ball at his ankle.

He knew it.

A spell had been casted on him by his dear mother. He gritted his teeth as rage filled his entire being. They used his weak point to dictate him. It was a smart move but at the same time, it was unfair.

"Tch. What a coward!"

"I would prefer to call it smart, Kyoya dear." She said with a victorious smile while eyeing her second son with her sharp dark purple eyes, "Now, why don't you get yourself ready? Of course, with the help from Alaude." She said as she shifted her glance to the sudden appeared Alaude who was leaning against the wall, not too far from Kyoya's left side.

Alaude said nothing but nodded his head, making his mother's smile wider than just a small confident smile. "You've got ten minutes to prepare so be quick. We will depart to the palace at 6 pm." She said once again before disappearing into thin air.

Kyoya narrowed his eyes and was about to utter some rude word only to find that no sound coming out from his throat. He was mute thanks to the spell of silence, **Silentio***,his brother used on him.

"Don't anger her anymore than this, Kyoya, if you don't want to have another spell been casted on you." Alaude said as he approached his younger brother and snapped his finger altogether at the same time. In a blink of eyes, they were already in Kyoya's own bedroom.

"Help him ready for the party."

With that order from Alaude, all the maids that had been waiting inside the room busied themselves to get Kyoya ready to attend a royal grand party. It was no easy task. Kyoya kept struggling to shoo them away with every ways.

"Kyoya, you have five more minutes or you do want another spell that was much worse than **C****atena ****Incantamenta* **being casted on you?" Alaude chided as he glared at his younger brother who glared back at him with the same sharp stares.

"I don't care." Kyoya said, not even seemed to care about the fact that Alaude had removed both spells that had been casted on him.

"Being rebellious, huh? Well...I wonder what mom's opinion about your act is two weeks ago?"

Kyoya's eyes widened. No. His elder brother couldn't have known it. He was sure that no one noticed him ran at the rooftop of Aurea Turris. No. His brother wasn't there. Even if he was there, he was not fast enough to catch his sight running at the rooftop, not to mention that Aurea Turris was the highest tower in the town.

"Mother knew it well enough that it's already my habit to run away from studies." Kyoya said with a hint of sarcasm towards his elder brother.

"Then, I'm sure she'll be excited to know your daring act at the golden tower." Alaude said in ignorance but one couldn't just simply ignore a devious smirk that graced upon his lips. It was like a kind of warning, telling that he might know something the others tried to hide and he was irresponsible for any leaked out secret.

"That must be your imagination."

It was the least he could give Alaude as an answer. Saying something rude wouldn't do any good for his brother was an unpredictable type. The words he said before could be just a threat or he might plan to report it for real to his mother. His brother could do either way and he couldn't afford to let such important secret of his reached his mother's ears. As much as he hated it, he had to obey his elder brother this time which meant tried his best to restrain his annoyance for any skin contact made every time those maids dressed him.

It was not more than five minutes that Kyoya was ready to go.

"Please excuse us, Alaude-sama." All the maids bowed deeply and quitted the bedroom at once.

"I see that you're ready. Let's go. Father and mother had already waited for us."

Kyoya sighed inwardly, feeling so depressed. Why there was no any single person that understood him? Party wasn't his thing and crowds weren't his entire reason. He had already told his mother before that he absolutely hated the fake atmosphere that usually surrounded a party. Arrogance, sinister, gossips were the things he hated the most from a gathered noble. Needless to say, they were the exact type of herbivores; a bunch of people who could only do less and dependant to others. They were nothing if they were alone and always looked up to others' opinion. They were the type he despised the most. Not to mention that all the rich kids were complete spoiled kids. Well...perhaps not all of them but still...most of them. There was no way he would want to gather with such people. So, why bother to try making friends with them?

Why couldn't his mother understand it?

If it was just to show respect towards the royals, then, weren't the attendance of his mother, father and elder brother already enough as representatives of Nuvola Family? Why should he come along, too? So that, he could socialize and made any friends?

He didn't need friends. He was fine by himself. No friends of his were herbivores.

Wait.

There was a certain someone who was an exception. If it was the brunette he met two weeks ago, then, he would be happy to be friends with him. Even though he was an herbivore but the brunette was no like most people he met. He loved those warm chocolate brown eyes that would radiate in innocence and sincerity. A pure one.

Judging from the shirt the brunette was wearing, the brunette must be a common people. He could enter Aurea Turris must be because he was someone close to at least either of both the royal princes or he found it by coincidence. That must be it. There was no way that boy was a royalty.

However, it seemed that the brunette was at the same age of the second prince of Vongola. Maybe they were actually the same person by any chance and he had been in disguise while walking in the town so that he could have enjoyed the festival without attracting unnecessary attention from the town people. This was also possible but wasn't the rate of the possibility too small? The answer was uncertain as both 'yes and no' held the same amount of chance. He could only confirm it by meeting the prince directly but didn't it cause him too much inconvenience?

What if that they were actually two different people? Didn't it mean that he would be trap in that dumb party until his parents decided to go home? There's no way he would want that. Just imagining it was enough to send him into a foul mood.

"Don't make such scary face, Kyoya dear. The party isn't as bad as you think. Just give it a try and perhaps, you'll come to like it later." Her mother's soft and gentle words snapped Kyoya out from his thoughts. It was obvious for him that he just let his guards down by being drowned so much in his thought until he forgot about his surrounding and just followed his elder brother's steps out from the mansion to the inside of the carriage.

"I will attend the party but..." Kyoya muttered quietly under his breath without bothering to look at his mother. He just simply stared at the neat garden, line up tree and buildings outside the carriage, "only for the food." He added.

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_-To be continue-_

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Translations :

**Silentio : **Spell of Silence

**Catena Incantamenta : **Spell of Chains

So...Reviews, suggestions and critiques are always welcomed. Please, tell me what you think about this story. ^^...

See you all in the next chapter.

-Whiteberry-


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